the toxic truth - Greenpeace

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the toxic truth Chronology 2005 December 2005 Internal emails between senior Trafigura executives discuss the purchase of a large consignment of coker naphtha. 2006 January 2006 Trafigura starts to buy cargoes of coker naphtha. January 2006 First caustic washing is carried out in the United Arab Emirates, at the premises of the Fujairah Refinery Company Ltd. January-March 2006 Two caustic washing operations are carried out at La Skhirra, a port in Tunisia, at the premises of a company called TANKMED. 14 March 2006 Gases leak from TANKMED causing breathing difficulties for employees. The waste from caustic washing was implicated. Mid-April 2006 Tunisian authorities suspend the caustic washing operations at TANKMED. April-June 2006 Three shipments of coker naphtha are washed on board the Probo Koala in different locations in the Mediterranean. April 2006 Trafigura approaches at least four locations in Europe seeking to offload the waste: Gibraltar, Italy, Malta and France. None are able to take the waste. 19 June 2006 Trafigura contacts Amsterdam Port Services (APS), a company in Amsterdam, to discuss offloading the waste. Although Trafigura states that it told APS about the nature of the waste, a Dutch court later found that this claim was not credible. 2 July 2006 The Probo Koala arrives in Amsterdam and begins to offload the waste on to an APS barge. 3-4 July 2006 The Dutch authorities receive reports of a troubling smell from the dock. APS analyses a sample of the waste. Samples of the waste are also taken by the Dutch police and sent for analysis. The results of APS tests show that the waste has a much higher chemical oxygen demand (COD – one measure of the potential for a material or waste to cause pollution) than anticipated by APS when it agreed to process the waste. It therefore requires more specialized treatment. APS increases its quote for dealing with the waste. Trafigura rejects the quote and requests that the waste be pumped back on board the Probo Koala. 5 July 2006 The waste is reloaded on to the Probo Koala. 9 July 2006 The Probo Koala arrives in Paldiski, Estonia, where it is inspected by Estonian Port State Control. However, nothing is done to prevent the ship and its waste cargo from leaving Estonia. 12 July 2006 In Côte d’Ivoire Compagnie Tommy receives its licence to operate. 30 July 2006 The Probo Koala arrives in Togo. 4 August 2006 The Probo Koala arrives in Lagos, Nigeria. 10, 15 and 16 August 2006 Several attempts are made to dispose of the waste in Nigeria. All are unsuccessful. 15 August 2006 Trafigura is contacted by the Dutch police, who are trying to track what has happened to the waste. They inform Trafigura that it should be disposed of as chemical waste, and ask to see discharge records. 17 August 2006 Trafigura emails Puma Energy, its Ivorian subsidiary, to inform it of the imminent arrival of the Probo Koala and to request that Puma arranges for the waste to be discharged at Abidjan. 11 kEy faCTS Of ThE CaSE
12 Amnesty internAtionAl And greenpeAce netherlAnds kEy faCTS Of ThE CaSE 18 August 2006 Shipping agent West African International Business Services (WAIBS) introduces Compagnie Tommy to the head of Trafigura’s subsidiary company, Puma Energy. Compagnie Tommy is appointed by Trafigura to discharge the waste in Akouédo, an open-air dumpsite in the city that has no capacity to deal with the waste. 19 August 2006 The Probo Koala arrives in Abidjan. The waste is offloaded and dumped at the Akouédo site, as well as across the city, by truck drivers hired by Compagnie Tommy. 20 August 2006 The people of Abidjan wake up to an appalling smell, and thousands experience physical symptoms, including headaches, vomiting, diarrhoea, skin irritations, breathing difficulties and bleeding noses. 22 August 2006 The Ivorian environmental agency, CIAPOL, tries to prevent the departure of the Probo Koala so that investigations can take place. They are unsuccessful. The Probo Koala leaves Abidjan. 22 August 2006 The Dutch authorities request a discharge report, including an invoice, for the waste. Trafigura executives in London ask Compagnie Tommy to modify its invoice for the disposal job to show a much higher price. 28 August 2006 The Ivorian President sets up an Inter- Ministerial Committee to co-ordinate and manage the emergency response. 15 September 2006 The Ivorian government establishes national and international commissions of inquiry on the toxic waste dumping in Abidjan to identify responsibilities and failings at the national and international level. 17 September 2006 The decontamination process begins. Tredi, a French company, is appointed to undertake the clean-up. 18 September 2006 Claude Dauphin (Trafigura’s chairman), Jean-Pierre Valentini (a senior manager of the company) and N’Zi Kablan (the local manager of Puma Energy, Trafigura’s subsidiary company in Abidjan) are arrested by Ivorian authorities and subsequently imprisoned by way of pre-trial detention for five months in Abidjan’s MACA prison. 26 September 2006 Greenpeace activists blockade the Probo Koala at the Estonian port of Paldiski; the Estonian authorities decide to investigate the ship. Greenpeace files a report with the Dutch Public Prosecutor, requesting a criminal investigation into the dumping. 28 September 2006 Claude Dauphin admits during a police interview in Abidjan that Trafigura is responsible for the events in Côte d’Ivoire: “It is the Trafigura Company and, to a certain extent, [Trafigura executive] Monsieur Marrero, who are entirely responsible for these actions.” End of October 2006 The emergency medical response finishes. 10 November 2006 A civil claim is filed by 30,000 Ivorians in the High Court of England and Wales against Trafigura for damages for personal injury. 21 November 2006 The Ivorian National Commission of Enquiry publishes its report. 26 November 2006 The President of Côte d’Ivoire reinstates three officials who had been suspended since 14 September 2006. 2007 31 January 2007 Over 100,000 people are registered as having sought medical consultation between 20 August 2006 and 31 January 2007. 13 February 2007 Trafigura and the state of Côte d’Ivoire reach a settlement. Trafigura agrees to pay CFA95 billion (approximately US$195 million). 1
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